Inflammation and Juice

Can you juice your way to lower inflammation?  Could it be that simple?  The answer  is a resounding 'yes', within reason of course, and we'll show you two or three common juices that can do just that.

Now, before I write anything else, let me just make the comment that it is very unlikely that you can "live like hell" and get away with just drinking some juice and counteracting the ill inflammatory effects.  For example, in my link on How to Lower Inflammation, I cover how high-glycemic meals, Atkins diets, a sedentary lifestyle, extra salt and lack of sleep can all lead to elevated levels of inflammation.

However, assuming you live a reasonably healthy lifestyle, you may be able to juice away one of your arch-enemies as a male.  Remember that inflammation is a natural process, but runaway inflammation - the curse of men in modern, industrialized societies - is the root of almost every ill that you can conceive of.  Inflammation has been implicated as one of the major root causes in cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's, erectile dysfunction, cancer and autoimmune disorders. Yes, elevated inflammtion is pure evil.

Furthermore, it's going to be a very long time before they come up with a nice, brightly colored pill that you can pop to magically overcome its ill effects.  The good news is that you don't need to!  You can dramatically lower your inflammation levels through diet (and exercise).  In fact, below we will show you how combining two to three different types of fruit juice each day are just like taking an "anti-inflammatory pill" and all without the nasty side effects!

There are likely many more fruit juices that would qualify, but here are a few of the heavy hitters and just how they lower inflam

1.  Tart Cherry Juice. This juice made the news in the sports and fitness world when researchers found that it reduced muscle soreness and recovery time for marathon runners.  What is not as well known is that reduced two of the biggest inflammatory markers, IL-6 and C-Reactive protein at the same time. [1]

2.  Pomegranate Juice.  This powerhouse has decreased the vascular inflammation markers, thrombospondin (TSP) and cytokine TGFbeta1. [2]  It also has, at least in cancer cells, decreased TNF-alpha COX-2 expression. [3]  Pomegranate Juice is so powerful in this area, especially in at risk men, that researchers have contemplated using it to treat Behcet's Syndrome, a nasty condition that results in dramatically increased arterial inflammation. [4]  (Pomegrante juice can be a big help in the bedroom as well.  See my link on The Many Wonders of Pomegranate for more information.

3)  Orange Juice.  Researchers recently found that 300 calories of orange juice offered significant protection to men and women from the typical pro-inflammatory response that results after with a nasty, fast food meal. These were normal, healthy subjects who ate 900 calories of items such as sausage muffins, hash browns and so on. [5]  Of course, we don't advise having orange juice just so you can eat "like hell", but this does show the power of fruit juice to limit inflammation.  A similar study in the same year showed that orange juice mutes the rise in the deadly TNF-alpha cytokine as well. [6]

NOTE:  It doesn't take a lot of juice to do some magic.  Most of the pomegranate juice studies are with 8 oz and one study of orange juice showed that low calorie, i.e. less concentrated, orange juice lowered C-Reactive protein levels. [7]  This is very significant, because it shows that just a little juice can "go a long way":  C-Reactive protein is correlated with a host of nasty conditions including cardiovascular disease and colon cancer.

CAUTION:  More is not necessarily better when it comes to fruit juices.  The experts recommend keeping your total fructose for the day less than about 50 grams.

REFERENCES:

1) Scand J Med Sci Sports, 2010 Dec, 20(6):843-52. "Influence of tart cherry juice on indices of recovery following marathon running"

2) Nitric Oxide, 2007 Aug, 17(1):50-4, "The influence of pomegranate fruit extract in comparison to regular pomegranate juice and seed oil on nitric oxide and arterial function in obese Zucker rats"

3) J Agric Food Chem, 2006, 54:980-985, "Pomegranate juice, total pomegranate ellagitannins, and punicalagin suppress inflammatory cell signaling in colon cancer cells"

4) Clin Rheumatol, 2007 Oct, 26(10):1709-10, "Pomegranate juice may be a potential addition to anti-Behçet armamentarium: a hypothesis"

5) Am J Clin Nutr, Apr 2010, 91(4):940-949, "Orange juice neutralizes the proinflammatory effect of a high-fat, high-carbohydrate meal and prevents endotoxin increase and Toll-like receptor expression"

6) Diabetes Care, 2010 May, 33(5):991-7, "Differential effects of cream, glucose, and orange juice on inflammation, endotoxin, and the expression of Toll-like receptor-4 and suppressor of cytokine signaling-3"

7) Am J Clin Nutr, 2006 Oct, 84(4):756-61, "Reduced-calorie orange juice beverage with plant sterols lowers C-reactive protein concentrations and improves the lipid profile in human volunteers"